An unofficial Croydon, Sutton and Surrey Green Party blog by Shasha Khan. Having lived in Croydon most of my life, I now live just outside the south west of the borough in Woodmansterne.

Friday, August 01, 2014

Letter on Emily Benn

From Croydon Guardian 30th July

Dear Editor,

A friend of mine who lives in East London has just text me, “24? What does a 24 year old know about
anything?” He is referring to Emily Benn, granddaughter, to the late great
Tony Benn. Ms Benn, aged 24, is to stand as Labour candidate in Croydon South
at the May 2015 General Election. Tactically, it is good for Croydon Labour
that she is standing because, on the surface, voters will assume her position
on the political compass is similar to her grandfather. Scratch the surface and
voters will find that she is a neoliberal investment banker, belonging to the
fraternity that has caused this age of austerity.

However, Labour does need to somehow portray a progressive
sheen to their persona because those who believe in social justice are
deserting Labour and finding solace in the Greens. Croydon Labour from the
outset has maintained it will continue the cuts programme started by the
previous administration.

Labour in Croydon is now associated with a name that
traditional Labour voters will warm to. This undoubtedly will help manage the
obvious disappointment when the cuts programme takes effect.

Incidentally, I replied to my friend’s text with, “A 24yr old will be in tune with issues
facing young people today, but having read her biog (grammar school followed by
Oxford Uni & now graduate trainee at UBS) I could be wrong!”